Extra Credit
by Min0rDetails
Summary: Scorpius and Rose are in fourth year and Flitwick assigned extra credit for anyone who can alter a charm's behavior. As it happens, they each pick the same one and collide in the library when getting the same book. Minor slash mentioned.
1. Conversations with Albus

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

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><p>Rose opened the door to the Fourth Year Hufflepuff Boy's dorm as silently as possible so that she didn't wake the five sleeping boys.<p>

After letting her eyes adjust to the dark, Rose tiptoed her way over to where she could faintly hear her cousin Albus mumbling in his sleep.

"Albus, Albus, wake up. I need to ask you something," Rose said as she lightly prodded Albus's shoulder.

The only response she got was Albus rolling over and pressing his cheek into her hand as he once again mumbled something in his sleep. It was all she could not to yank her hand away and retch. She was pretty sure Albus had drooled on her hand!

Rose was in the midst of extracting her hand from in between her cousin's hand and his pillow when she honed in on what exactly Albus was mumbling about as he slept.

"Lorcan… don wanna, stop," Albus mumbled as he pressed his face harder into Rose's hand.

Rose was pretty sure she had stopped breathing by that point. What was she going to do? She was pretty sure her cousin was in the midst of a dream that she wasn't sure she wanted to know about.

After hearing Albus groan again, Rose decided enough was enough.

After casting a silencing charm around Albus's bed, she decided to try again. "ALBUS WAKE UP!" Rose shouted into Albus's ear.

Rose couldn't help but chuckle as her cousin bolted upright and then promptly fell out of bed to land at her feet in a heap of sheets and blankets.

"Rose what the hell are you doing here? You just woke me up from a great dream you prat!" Albus said angrily as he picked up his bedding and climbed back into bed.

"I could tell. You were mumbling in your sleep," Rose said partially amused.

Even though it was dark, Rose could sense that Albus had tensed as soon as she had said that.

"What do you mean Rose?" Albus asked cautiously.

"Well, you've always been a mumbler since you were young," Rose said as she reminisced a bit about their shared childhood.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I want to know what I said, if I said anything really," Albus said.

"Well, you snuggled into my hand and then mumbled about Lorcan. Scamander I'm guessing since we don't know any other Lorcans. Oh, and you did groan a bit. That's when I decided it was time to wake you up," Rose said a bit sheepishly.

"Shit," Albus said as he dragged his hands over his face. "Look, Rose… I don't know how to say this…" Albus started.

"You know you don't need to say anything if you don't want to. We can pretend that this never happened if that makes you more comfortable," Rose offered since she could tell that Albus was struggling to say what he might not even have wanted to say.

"No, it's better that someone knows. It might help me process things anyways. I trust you, Rose. You wouldn't tell anyone, right?" Albus asked seriously as his green eyes bore into Rose's through the dark.

"Albus, we've been best friends since before we were born. You know I'd never tell anyone anything you tell me in confidence, unless it was something that—" Rose began.

"Something that might harm me. I know Rose. I was just checking because what I'm about to tell you might change how you think of me, or how other people might think of me. Trust me when I say that is the last thing I want to happen," Albus said shakily.

"Albus, you can tell me anything. You know that I don't care what other people think or say. Look at what they say about me and Malfoy! I'm not letting that bother me!" Rose said as she sat down next to Albus and put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Rose, I think our situations might be a bit different," Albus said although he did chuckle a bit to Rose's relief.

"Well, I'm listening if you want to talk," Rose said quietly.

"Ok, well I guess here goes nothing. I think I might like boys. No, I know I like boys. And I'm not talking about as friends. Ok this is where it gets awkward. You're my cousin and a girl. I don't know if I want to tell you this or if you'd even want to hear this," Albus said as he wrinkled his nose.

"You've made it this far. Why not just continue? Besides, I can judge for myself whether or not it's something I'd want to hear or not," Rose said as she stuck her tongue out in Albus's direction.

"Fine. Where was I? Oh, right. So I know I like boys because I have wet dreams about them instead of girls. It's ok. You have permission to laugh," Albus said as he stared straight ahead.

"Does it sound like I'm laughing Albus? What you told me is normal. Why would I laugh at that?" Rose asked genuinely confused and even a bit hurt.

"Because Rose. I just told you I have sex dreams about other guys. I'm a guy. Most guys don't have sex dreams about other guys. How is this normal?" Albus asked angrily.

"Because sexuality is a spectrum Albus. It's not confined to certain categories that fit everyone. There are numerous different sexualities. I know that this isn't something talked about in the Wizarding World, but it's talked about a lot in the Muggle World. I picked up some books this summer after visiting the movies where there was a female character who was interested in other girls. It struck me so I wanted to do some research," Rose said.

"Is that what you were doing holed up in your room all summer then? Reading about different sexualities?" Albus asked.

"As a matter of fact it was what I had been doing Albus. If you remember, I invited you along because I thought it might be something you'd be interested in, but I remember you all but ran in the opposite direction when I brought it up," Rose said.

"Yeah, well you know how I feel about reading and books in general," Albus offered as a weak explanation.

"Yes, Quidditch before books. Remind me how we're friends again?" Rose joked.

"It might have something to do with our mothers being best friends and us being relatives who grew up attached to the hip," Albus joked back.

"Hilarious Albus. Just hilarious," Rose attempted to say, but she ruined the line by bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. Albus was right behind her.

After finishing laughing, Albus once again turned the conversation to more serious terms. "So, what did those books say exactly aside from there being multiple sexualities?"

"All sorts of things. And not all of it was about sexual orientations. There was a lot of interesting things about gender identity as well. I still have them if you'd like to read them yourself. I know that you hate reading, but this is something I think you should read and learn yourself instead of hearing it second hand from me," Rose said.

"Thanks, Rose. For everything. I might actually read them," Albus said weakly.

"I can give them to you tomorrow," Rose said.

"No, not tomorrow. I still need time to process everything and to sleep," Albus said pointedly.

"Is this your attempt at telling me to kindly leave your presence?" Rose asked in mock offense.

"Well, now that you said it…" Albus said.

"Fine, I'll leave. But I need to ask you a favor," Rose said.

"Ahh, the real reason why she visits. It's because she needs something," Albus said amused.

"Shut up Albus," Rose said as she whacked him over the head with a pillow.

"Well now that you did that I don't think I want to grant you that favor. Whatever it may be," Albus said as he threw the pillow back.

"No please Albus. I really need this favor. I need it to beat Malfoy!" Rose all but pleaded.

"Malfoy? You woke me up due to your fixation on Malfoy? Rose, as much as I loved talking to you tonight couldn't that have waited until morning?!" Albus asked incredulous.

"First off, I do NOT have a fixation on Malfoy. The mere thought of that is actually repulsive Albus. Second, no it could not wait. And if you listen I'll tell you why," Rose said.

"Fine, I'll listen if you want to talk," Albus said.

"Do you remember how Flitwick assigned the extra credit project on charm behavior alteration?" Rose asked.

"This is seriously about extra credit that you don't even need? Rose, are you serious? This is crazy!" Albus said.

"I DO need it Albus! Scorpius and I are tied for first place in our year, and this extra credit might be what I need to finally come out on top!" Rose said almost hysterically.

"Rose, I don't care what your dad told you, but this isn't healthy. You and Malfoy are both so focused on beating each other that you can't even see how much you two have in common. If you weren't so focused on being the best you two might actually be good friends," Albus said.

"Albus you don't understand. I don't want to let him down. He's my dad," Rose said quietly.

"I think I do understand Rose. I don't want to let my dad down either. I'm gay, or at least I think I might be gay. I think that might be more of a let down than not being the top of your year or being tied for the top," Albus said rather pointedly.

"You're right. I just told you that I don't care what other people think or say, and yet I'm proving the exact opposite in regards to my dad," Rose said with a frustrated sigh.

"It's ok. It's not easy being the children of the Golden Trio. We have a lot to live up to. But then again, maybe we shouldn't be trying to live up to other's expectations. Maybe we need to find our own paths," Albus said with the type of wisdom that only comes about late at night.

"That's true, but," Rose started.

"You still want the cloak," Albus finished.

"Yes," Rose said sheepishly.

"Fine, just don't lose it," Albus said as he found his cloak under his bed.

"Yes Albus. I planned on losing the cloak," Rose said sarcastically.

"It was a rhetorical question that didn't require an answer Rose," Albus replied cheekily.

"Whatever, thank you," Rose said as she slipped the cloak over her body.

"Look Rose, I still think you should put this whatever it is with Malfoy behind you. Then maybe you'll see what's in front of both your faces," Albus said.

"What in the world are you talking about Albus?" Rose asked as she prepared to leave.

"Nothing. It was just an observation others and I have been making," Albus said cryptically.

"Riiight," Rose said unconvinced as she turned to leave.

"You wouldn't tell anyone, right Rose?" Albus whispered once Rose got to the door.

"Of course not Albus. It's something that people should hear from you whenever you're ready or whenever you're completely sure. Oh, and I put a silencing charm around your bed so that only you and I can hear each other right now. I might suggest doing that every night before you fall asleep just in case you do mumble something when one of the other boys are awake," Rose said as she opened the door.

"Thanks Rose. Will do," Albus whispered before Rose stepped out of the boy's dormitory. Now, on to the library to get that book.


	2. The Library

Disclaimer: I do not own HP.

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><p>Rose pulled open the door to the library as quietly as she could before tiptoeing inside. She still needed to be cautious, even if she was invisible to the naked eye. You never knew who could be patrolling the corridors late at night.<p>

After listening to make sure there was no sound of approaching footsteps or a familiarly terrible cat's meow, Rose pulled out her wand and whispered, "Lumos." A bright light illuminated the library around her, and she could make out the familiar shapes of desks and chairs as she hurried towards the charms section in the back of the library. She knew the exact book she would need to ace this extra credit project for Flitwick.

Rose silently made her way past numerous book cases before coming to a stop in front of the last one. Rose was about to take a look when she heard what sounded like muffled footsteps headed her way. Rose hurriedly whispered, "Nox," to get rid of the light emanating from the tip of her wand.

Rose held her breath as she tried to see the source of the footsteps, but she couldn't see anything even though the footsteps had stopped at the end of the aisle where she was currently standing. This made her exceptionally nervous, but she didn't dare say anything.

Rose drew a shaky breath as she heard the footsteps resume. Whoever it was seemed intent upon going to where she was. Rose tried to flatten herself against one side of the bookshelf to avoid accidentally being knocked into by the invisible someone with the muffled footsteps.

The footsteps hesitated and then stopped. It was almost as if they had sensed Rose's movement as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Silence reigned as both Rose and the other person tried to make sense of the situation and gain the upper hand. Rose made to move sideways along the books in an attempt to make it to the main part of the library again. She would have made it too if she hadn't run into whomever it was she was trying to avoid.

"Mmmffph," Rose managed as she tried not to let out a startled yell.

The person she had run into made a similar grunting sound from right next to where she was standing.

There was really no avoiding it now that they knew exactly where the other was standing. There was really no alternative. No pretending.

"Who's there?" Rose asked in what she hoped was a confident voice.

"Weasley?" a familiar voice answered back.

"Malfoy?" Rose all but shrieked. Of course it would be Malfoy. They had this terrible habit of ending up in the same place without trying.

"What the hell Weasley. Where are you? I know you're there but I can't see you," Malfoy said from somewhere a little ways in front of her.

"That's because I'm invisible you dolt! I'm guessing you are as well or else I wouldn't have run into you trying to leave," Rose muttered angrily.

"Fine, I'm invisible. I have a disillusionment charm cast on myself. Did you do one as well?" Scorpius asked.

Rose was about to answer no, but then thought better of it because the cloak wasn't her secret to tell. "Yes," Rose said.

"Fine. Since we know we're here, why not undo the spells?" Scorpius asked as he suddenly came into vision in front of Rose.

"I, not until you tell me what you're doing here after hours," Rose said. If she took of the cloak, it would become visible, and Scorpius would know about the cloak. And he would know she had lied. Rose didn't understand why that thought bothered her so much. It's not like she cared.

"I could ask you the same thing. Perfect Miss Weasley breaking the school rules. What would Daddy Dearest say about his little girl now?" Scorpius asked sarcastically only to find a disjointed arm pointing a wind in between his eyeballs.

"Watch your mouth Malfoy," Rose warned dangerously.

"And you watch your hand Weasley lest you want one less," Scorpius growled as he suddenly lunged for the part of Rose's arm that was exposed.

Caught off guard, Rose wasn't able to react until it was too late and Scorpius already had his hand on the cloak. "Malfoy wait!" Rose started, but it was too late. Scorpius had already succeeded in ripping the cloak off of her, and Rose was left shivering in the chill of the library.

"What the hell is this?" Scorpius asked in awe as he fingered the material. "No, it can't be? Weasley, is this an invisibility cloak?" Scorpius asked in awe as he placed it over his own shoulders and watched his body disappear.

"Yes it is, and it's my Uncle's," Rose said as she yanked it off Scorpius.

"Whoa Weasley, calm down. I just wanted to see it. I heard my Dad talk about how he thought that was how your parents always managed to sneak around, but he could never be sure. Now I know. I can finally tell him that he was right," Scorpius said with an exaggerated wink.

"You're not mad that I lied?" Rose asked before she could stop herself.

"No. I'm a Malfoy, and I'm used to people lying to me. It comes with the name," Scorpius said seriously.

"Yes, well," Rose offered intelligently as an awkward silence fell between them.

"So-"

"What-"

"You first."

"No, you."

"You!"

"Fine!" Rose burst out with her own eye-roll. "I'll go first. What are you doing here Malfoy?" Rose questioned accusingly.

"I'm not sure I like your tone Weasley, and I could ask you the same damn question," Scorpius retorted back fiercely.

"Just answer the question Malfoy!" Rose all but yelled. She was cranky and tired. She just wanted to get her damn book and get whatever remaining sleep she could before getting ready for class.

"It should be obvious given where we are, but I'm looking for a book," Scorpius said as he gestured to the books around them.

"What book?" Rose asked as her eyes narrowed. She and Malfoy had both come to the library in the dead of night to avoid the other. There could really only be one reason for that. He had to be doing the extra credit assignment as well.

"_Advanced Theories on Charm Behavioral Alteration and Manipulation _by Adeline Montgomery. It's for the extra credit project for Flitwick. I'm going to assume that's why you're here as well?" Malfoy asked irritated.

"As a matter of fact it is, and that also happens to be the book I want!" Rose said defiantly as she raised a red eyebrow in challenge.

"I see. May the best win then," Scorpius said with the same smirk that had been bringing butterflies to Rose's stomach the last couple of weeks.

"You're on Malfoy," Rose said as they both turned to face the shelves.

"Whoever finds it first wins. And no magical interference," Scorpius said from across the aisle.

"Agreed," Rose said determined. She was already scanning the titles in front of her.

"On three then. One, two, three!" Scorpius said as both he and Rose started to frantically scan the books in front of them. Once satisfied that it wasn't there, they would both move on to a different section of the shelves.

The frantic search went on for a couple more minutes until Rose and Scorpius found the book they wanted of which they knew there was only one copy. Unfortunately, they found the book at the same time.

"My hand was there first!" Rose said indignantly as she glared at Malfoy's hand on the other side of the book.

"No, we got there at the same time. But I'm older so I should get the book first!" Scorpius said as he gave a gentle tug.

"You're older by two months Malfoy, now give it here. Ladies first, right?" Rose said as she tugged back.

"I don't see any ladies here Weasley, and you're being unreasonable!" Scorpius said as Rose kicked him in the shin. He guessed he deserved that.

"No you're being unreasonable. You just don't want to lose!" Rose said as she once again tugged on the book.

"What is it with you and winning? It's like that's all you are about!" Malfoy said as he tugged back on the book.

"Oh, like the competition bothered you two minutes ago when we were racing. It was obvious you enjoyed that," Rose bit out.

"I do enjoy the competition, but I know when to stop. You obviously don't," Scorpius said as he raised an eyebrow at the tug-of-war they had going on over the book.

"Whatever Scorpius. Give me the book. This is nonnegotiable," Rose said irritated and a bit hurt at being called out like that.

"Big words aren't going to get you what you want," Scorpius said as he yanked the book with all of his might.

Perhaps he had underestimated the strength of Rose's grip, or Rose had underestimated Scorpius' strength, but in any case Scorpius' yank had sent Rose and the book colliding into Scorpius at a surprising speed. They were on the floor with the book a good few feet away from them before they managed to gain some perspective of what happened.

"Mafloy! You're such a prat!" Rose said as she slapped Scorpius' chest from her position on top of him. "Such a stupid prat!"

It was only then that Rose seemed to realize their compromising position. Scorpius was lying flat on his back, and Rose was straddling him on the ground. The most embarrassing part was that neither of them seemed to mind that much.

"So you really want that book Weasley?" Scorpius whispered so that Rose had to lean down to listen.

"You know I do," Rose whispered back.

"Fine. You can have it on one condition," Scorpius said.

"What?" Rose asked cautiously.

"You can have it if you kiss me," Scorpius said with a delighted smirk on his face that Rose had a perfect view of from her position atop him.

Rose contemplated her choices. She could refuse like he expected her to, which would mean that he kept the book, or she could surprise the hell out of him and give him a kiss. Rose wasn't sure what would be the better choice in the long run, but she decided to go with her gut, or perhaps her hormones, in the moment. And whatever she was listening to told her to kiss him.

And so she did. She kissed him hard. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible. In fact, Rose thought she was doing a pretty good job for someone who had never kissed anyone before. Those thoughts were only reinforced once she felt Scorpius start responding and his arms wrap around her waist. And then she stopped thinking altogether when he flipped them over so that he was on top and the one controlling the kiss. And boy was it a kiss. Rose never wanted it to stop. In fact, she was subconsciously trying to move closer to Malfoy when she heard a gasp and then a strangled sound of confusion. It was quickly followed by an expletive and the angry sound of her cousin's voice.

"Rose, what the hell are you doing?" Albus asked as he yanked Scorpius off of his cousin. "No you stay there!" Albus said when Scorpius tried to move closer to Rose. "Was he hurting you?" Albus demanded angrily. Despite being in Hufflepuff, Albus Severus Potter was not someone you wanted to mess with ever.

"I, no we were just kissing! I wanted my book!" Rose said.

"The book lying over there completely forgotten? You know Rose, if you had wanted the cloak to sneak out and snog Malfoy you could have just told me the truth. I thought you'd know to trust me after what we had talked about," Albus said a bit hurt once he had established that Rose hadn't in fact been hurt by Malfoy.

"Albus, what I said was the truth. I wanted my book! Scorpius said I could have it if I kissed him since we found it at the same time. So I kissed him!" Rose tried to say nonchalantly despite her flushed cheeks and still pounding heart.

"It looked to be a bit more intense than a mere kiss. In fact, I'd say you both really wanted to kiss the other," Albus said conversationally, but with his arms crossed.

"Don't be daft Potter. There's no way I would willingly kiss your cousin," Scorpius chimed in before Rose could speak again. She didn't know why, but the brash comment hurt a bit.

"And why is that Malfoy? Is she not good enough for your tastes?" Albus asked darkly as he glared at Scorpius. "Not beautiful enough like those other girls you hang out with? Well let me tell you that my cousin is more beautiful than all of those girls combined, and a hell lot smarter than them as well. If anyone's not good enough it's you!" Albus said angrily.

"Albus," Rose cautioned as she put a calming hand on her cousin's shoulder. Albus hadn't seen the flash of pain in Scorpius' eyes, but Rose had. Bringing in worth was a sore subject for Scorpius. Rose had learned that early on, and that there were some lines that should never be crossed where Scorpius was involved.

"What Rose. You enjoyed it, don't bother denying it because I know you too well. But if this prat was just using it as a one-off he needs to know that's not OK! And it shouldn't be OK with you either," Albus said heatedly.

"Albus, I appreciate your concern, but it's really not a big deal," Rose said even though Scorpius saying nothing after Albus had asked whether or not it was because she wasn't beautiful like the other girls did hurt. It's not that Rose thought she was ugly, it was just that she wasn't your traditional English Rose.

She had wavy, Weasley-toned hair combined with her father's blue eyes, skin color, and multitude of freckles. But she had the mother's eye shape, nose, and mouth. It made for an unusual combination. Rose wasn't ugly, but she would never really consider herself to be beautiful.

"But it is a big deal Rose! Guys shouldn't trick girls into kissing them. The girl should want to kiss the guy. What Scorpius did was low, and he should learn this now," Albus said as he gestured to where Scorpius was still standing across the aisle.

"Wait a minute Potter. If you remember, Rose had a choice. I never forced her to do anything against her will. I would never hurt a lady," Scorpius said as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"You knew how much she wanted the book. How else would you think she would have reacted," Albus retorted back.

"I thought she would have tried something else, like she usually does. I didn't expect the kiss. As you said, I'm not worthy of her kisses," Scorpius said in a low voice that betrayed just a hint of vulnerability.

That shut-up whatever Albus' future retort would have been.

But it opened up Rose's eyes a bit. "What do you mean Scorpius? You surely can't think you're not worthy of me," Rose said as she crossed over to where Scorpius was standing.

"What else am I supposed to think? I'm a Malfoy, you're a Weasley. You're from the Light and I'm from the Dark. You've had this weird fixation with beating me since first year. I thought you hated me," Scorpius said as he turned to face Rose.

"I thought you hated me! You sneered at me when I introduced myself our first day of classes when I was trying to be polite. Sure my dad told me to beat you in every class, but that didn't mean we couldn't have been friends! You sneered so I thought you didn't want to be around me," Rose said as she remembered their first day in Flitwick's class.

"I only sneered because I had thought you would do what the other kids had done. Offer their hand in friendship only to yank it back once they found out my surname. I hadn't realized you were serious until later in the week, and by then it was too late and you hated me!" Scorpius said.

"I'm going to leave now," Albus said awkwardly. To his credit he did try to leave, but Rose and Scorpius shot him a withering look that told him he wasn't going anywhere now that he opened the can of worms.

"So this whole time we've been competing because of a misunderstanding three years ago?" Scorpius asked amazed.

"Well, no because I still do want to beat you in every class," Rose said which caused Albus to snort. After glaring at her cousin, Rose continued. "But we thought we hated each other because of a misunderstanding. Now that it's cleared, would you be interested in maybe being friends? I know that it's kind of awkward because you have your friends and I have mine, but do you think we could try?" Rose asked shyly.

"I would like that. It would be nice knowing that I don't have to plaster a scowl on my face just for you Weasley," Scorpius joked.

"And I don't have to crinkle my nose anymore. I heard it gives you wrinkles, and I'm pretty sure it makes me unattractive," Rose said.

"Like you could ever look unattractive," Scorpius accidentally let out.

And awkward silence fell between them as both Scorpius and Rose blushed profusely, and Albus looked at his feet feeling sorry for himself.

"So does this mean I can go now? Now that you aren't hurting each other and have decided to be friends? Just friends though, right? I mean I know you kissed, but you still don't know too much about each other," Albus both cautioned and rambled on to their amusement.

"Slow down Albus. Let us be friends first before we think about more kissing," Rose said as she flushed deeply.

"Yeah Potter. Just two seconds ago you were yelling at me not to kiss your cousin. I don't think I'd like an immediate repeat," Scorpius said with a cocky grin.

"Sweet Merlin thank you! It means I'm still in the running," Albus said almost reverently.

Rose and Scorpius exchanged a confused glance.

"What running Al?" Rose asked dangerously.

"Oh, um, nothing you need to worry about Rose. Just something that everyone else needs to worry themselves over," Albus said as he backed away from an advancing Rose.

"Albus you prat! You bet on this or something, didn't you? Didn't you!" Rose said as she continued her advance.

"I don't know what you're talking about Rosie. And now that I know you're OK I'll be off! Don't forget the cloak!" Albus said as he sprinted out of the library with Rose at his heels yelling loudly enough to wake up the entire castle.

Scorpius chuckled to himself as he bent to pick up the discarded book and cloak. It was a good thing that he and Weasley, no Rose, were friends now or else he might have kept both to his advantage.

Instead, he would be returning both during their joint charms lesson later in the day. It would be their first public indication that something had changed between them, and that it had changed for the better.


End file.
